The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1887-04-15

beer CrOfts house. That was IN the mtdd
OF the afternoon, and they were until o'cloc
getting here, poor little dears, for the trac
was fainter thon than 1t Is now, and the
wandered of into the veldt and would hav
persisted there In the wet and cold had the
not CHANGED to sec the lights Of the hous'
| And that was how my nieces came herr
Capt. Mel. And here they have been eve
since, except for couple Of years whom
sent them to the Cape for schooling. and
lonely man was when they were away"
"And how about the father" asked job
Mel, deeply interested. "Did you ever hea
any more Of him"
Hear of him, the villain!" almost shoute
the old man, jumping up in wrath SAY
d-n him, l heard of him. What do yol
think2 The two chicks had been with m
some eighteen months, long enough for me Il
learn to love them with all my heart, whel
one fine morning, as l was seeing about tn
new kraal wall, l see fellow come riding VI
on an old, raw boned, gray horse. Up h
comes to me, and as he came looked at him
and said to myself, you are drunkard, 20,
are, and rogne; it's written on your face
and, what's more, know your face 70,
see did not guess it was son of my owl
fathers that was looking at. How
should II"
"'Is your name CroftF he said
"Ay,' answered.
$50 is mine,' he went on with sort Of q
drunken leer. I'm your brother
"'Are your said, beginning to get my
back up, for guessed what his game was
and what may you be after! tell you at
once, and to your face, that if you are my
brother you are a BLACKBOARD, and don't
want TO know you or have anything to dc
with you; and if you are not, beg your
pardon for coupling you with such a
scoundrel.'
"Oh that's your tune. is itF said he, with
a sneer well, now, my dear brother Sias,
want my children. They have got little
half brother at home-for have married
again, Silas-who is anxious to have them to
play with, so if you will be so good as to hand
them over, III take them away at once
"'You'll take them away, will your said 1,
all of tremble with rage and fear.
"Yes, Silas, will. They are mine by law,
and am not going to breed children for you
to have the comfort of their society. I've
taken advice, Sias, and that's sound law, ,
and he leered at me again.
~ stood and looked at the man, and thought
of how he had treated those poor children and
their young mother, and my blood boiled and
grew mad. Without another word I
jumped over the half finished wall and caught
him by the leg for was a strong man ten
years ago. and jcrkcd him off the horse As
he came down he dropped the sjambock from
his hand, and 1 caught hold of it and then
and there gave him the soundest hiding man
ever had. Lord, how he did halloa! When
was tired let him get up.
"'Now,' said, be off with you, and if you
come back here I'll bid the Kaffirs hunt you
back to Natal with their sticks. This is the
South African Republic, and we don't care
overmuch about law here.' Which we didn't
in those days.
"'All right, Silas,' he said, 'all right, you
shall pay for this. I'll have those children,
and, for your sake, I'll make their life hell
you mark my words-South African Re-
public Or no South African Republic. I've
got the law on my side.'
"Of he rode, cursing and swearing and I
flung his sjambock after him. And it was
the first and last time saw my brother"
"What became of him" asked John Mel.
"I'll tell you, just to show you again that
~
it's eye He got back to Newcastle that night,
and went about the canteen there abusing me
and getting drunken end drunken, till ut last
the canteen keeper sent for his boys to turn
him ont. Well, the boys were rough, as
kafiirs are apt to be with drunken white
nan. and he struggled and fought, and in the
middle of it the blood began to run from his
mouth, and he dropped down dead of broken
Of
That is the story of the two girls, Capt Mel,
md now I'm off to bed. Tomorrow I'll show
you round the farm, and we will have talk
bout business. Good night to you, Capt.
Mel; good night!'
CHAPTER III.
MIR. FRANK MULLER.
John Mel woke early next morning, feeling
sore and stiff as though he had been well
eaten and then strapped up tight in horse
imself, and then, with the help of stick,
mped through the French windows that
pened from his room on to the veranda and
,rveyed the scene before him. 1t was de-
ghtful spot. At the back of the house was
,e steep, bowlder strewn face of the fiat
,pped hill that curved round on each side,
great slope of green, in the lap
which the house was placed. The house
self was solidly built Of brown stone, and,
18th the exception of the wagon shed and
cher outhouses, which were rooted with gal |
anized iron that shone and glistened in the |
ays of the morning sun in a way that would |
ave made an eagle blink, was covered with
oh brown thatch. All along its front ran
ide veranda, up the trellis work Of which
reen vines and blooming creepers trailed
and beyond was the broad car
age drive of red soil, bordered with bushy
-ange trees laden with odorous flowers and
reen and golden fruit On the farther side
the orange trees were the gardens. fenced
with low walls of rough stone, and the
'chard full of standard fruit trees, and
syond these again the oxen and ostrich
RAILS, the latter full of long necked birds.
o the right of the house grew thriving
antations of blue gum and black waffle,
I'd to the left was broad stretch of cult
ated lands, lying so that they could be irri-
lted for winter crops by means of water led
ON the great spring that gushed from the
ountain side high above the house and gave
} name of Mooifontein to the place.
All these and many more things John Mel
w as he looked out from the veranda at
ooifontein, but, for the moment at any
tie, they were lost in the wild and wonderful
,auty of the panorama that rolled away for
IL. \ L. e. IL |